REVIEW: Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

book Title: Hex Hall (Hex Hall series, #1)
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Format: hardcover, 323 pages
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance
Source: purchased
Published: March 2010 by Hyperion

Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It's gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie's estranged father--an elusive European warlock--only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters.

By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire student on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect.

As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her.


Why I Read this Book: Witches don’t woo me so I wasn’t too excited to read Hex Hall. Slap me silly because when I finally decided to read it, it turned out to be a really good read. I’ve been missing out!

What I Liked: I really thought this was just going to be an okay book. I didn’t have any expectations but I was blown away. The cover didn’t grab me; if anything, it felt too “young” for me. And again, I’m not fascinated with witches so I wasn’t exactly thrilled that the protagonist was a witch. But once I started reading Hex Hall, the more I read, the more the book proved to be NOT what I expected. In a good way. This author knew how to keep me guessing without overwhelming me.

Hex Hall is a fascinating world of Prodigium (paranormal creatures). There’s one main love interest (Archer) and a possible second love interest (Cal). I am rooting for the underdog. Team Cal!

I love Sophie’s sarcasm and humor. I enjoyed reading from her POV; she’s not your typical whiny teenage full of angst who thinks too much. She’s realistic (as realistic as you can get for being a Prodigium) and I couldn’t help but like the girl. I enjoyed Archer’s sense of humor and sarcasm as well. Sophie and Archer seem to be a good fit.

What I Didn’t Like: Hex Hall was a good first book in a series. The author set up the plot splendidly, along with the characters. There wasn’t anything that I didn’t like about this book.

Overall Impression: Hex Hall is a quick read. I wanted to know how everything was going to play out. The ending was a bit of a cliffhanger but it only made me that more eager to read Demonglass (thank goodness I had Demonglass in hand when I finished Hex Hall!). The author’s fluid writing will draw you in and before you know it, you’ll blink and have had read 40 pages. It literally went by in a blink of an eye, in a very enjoyable way.


The Book Vixen’s Rating:

4 Frogs

About Brianna: Supermom by day, naughty reader by night. Addicted to chocolate, Twitter, her iPad, her Kindle, and 99¢ Kindle deals. You can follow Brianna on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, and Instagram.

10 comments:

  1. Great review! I loved the sarcasm too. It really made Sophie stand out as a character. From what I've heard Demonglass is even better.

    And I am hoping for something with Cal too!

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  3. Wasn't Hex Hall such an awesome read? Sophie definitely had me laughing out loud with her witty comebacks and sarcasm. Awesome review! Thanks for sharing your thoughts :) Can't wait to see what you think of book 2.

    Diana

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  4. I agree, the cover does seem a bit pre-teen, but Sophie is such an awesome character (the snark was my favorite). And Archer, le sigh. He's not just a pretty face, I loved having a guy that wasn't just angst eye candy.
    Jennifer (An Abundance of Books)

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  5. I'm reading Demonglass right now and the sarcasm just gets thicker. I'm actually enjoying it more than I did Hex. I'm glad you liked it.

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  6. I love a good quick read :) + the cover is cute. Perhaps I would enjoy it, depends

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  7. I have had my eye on this book and I'm glad that overall you liked it. I can't wait to read it and I will definitely be sure to have Demonglass when I do. :)

    Sunshine @ http://bookloversunshine.blogspot.com/

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  8. I'm not into witches either (or boarding schools) so I had been avoiding this one but now I might give it a try - I love sarcasm and humor more than I dislike witches :-) Nice review

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  9. This might be one of the few YA series I try. I have seen nothing but really good things said about :)

    Great Review!

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  10. Yes! Another Team Cal! I was beginning to think I was the only one :P

    I don't know what it is, but I just don't really like Archer. Cal on the other hand has great potential. I'm so glad to hear he gets more page time in the sequel.

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